In 2016 former rugby player James Ball found himself looking over the barrier of a road bridge fully intending to take his own life after finding it hard to adapt to life in a wheelchair.
Eight years later he’s Mayor of Camborne and is proving an inspiration to other disabled people in Cornwall.
There is no better advocate for International Day of Persons with Disabilities today (Tuesday, December 3). His mantra says it all: “Just because you have wheels, nothing should be a barrier.”
In less than two years of being on Camborne Town Council – something he never considered doing – James became mayor at a pivotal time for the town, which is starting to see a lot of investment and growing positivity to offset areas of deprivation and antisocial behaviour.
It was 11 years ago that his life completely changed. James was playing rugby for Redruth (not something you tend to mention in neighbouring Camborne) when almost overnight he found himself in a wheelchair.
A routine visit to his GP about some knee trouble soon revealed problems with his hip joints too, and resulted in five operations over the space of a few months as doctors battled to save his leg.
James, 45, now needs two hip replacements and two new knees, but is too young to have the operations on the NHS. “They’ll look at it when I’m 55 but I’ll take longer to recover then. I’ve fought and fought as much as I can,” he said.
“To start off with it was a struggle as I went from being so active, running around on a rugby pitch, to within a blink of an eye being in a wheelchair. How quickly it happened was shocking.
"Fortunately I had a lot of support around me, but it still had a damaging effect on my mental health. I tried to take my life twice. Now, obviously, I’m glad I didn’t do it because of what I’ve achieved.”
“My mental health dropped right down. It broke down my marriage – it had a huge impact on my family. Everyone that I meet I quite openly tell that I tried to take my own life.
"You shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it. If me talking about it then stops that person, it’s worth it.
“I took myself off to the bridge in 2016… I don’t even remember going there in my wheelchair. All I remember is being at the barrier and looking over. There was nothing else going on in my mind – I’d had enough at that point. In my mind there was nothing else I could do – I thought I was a burden on my family, I was a burden on my friends, I was a burden on everything.”
Fortunately the police arrived and James received help. “From there I had a lot of medication and mental health support. It’s only since coming into the council that I’ve come off my antidepressants. People might think, are you not depressed being on the council?” he joked.
“It sounds corny, but it’s that little switch that just flicks in your head and instead of thinking what I can’t do, it’s what I can do. Once you’ve got that, you can move on and fortunately we live in a society now where disabled people are accepted pretty much everywhere. There are a few issues with access to various things, but largely it’s very positive.
“I don’t get any form of discrimination against me. People always try to help me out. I can be in a shop and looking up, and someone will always come over to help. Sometimes I can be a bit stubborn and will struggle to get it myself, but you’ve got to let go of that a little bit and let people help you.”
“Sometimes I catch people looking and I’m just like ‘ask me a question’. Children are great – I can be on the bus and a kid will say ‘why’s that man got wheels?’ The parents are going ‘shhh’ but it’s fine. I tell them my legs don’t work properly and then all the ‘whys’ start.
"But it’s making them aware of people in wheelchairs – that there’s nothing to be scared of and you can approach us and have a conversation.
“I think I connect with people quite well – people don’t see me as a regular councillor. I can sit in the square with the street drinkers, have a chat with them and they give me all sorts of information because I’ve built up that rapport with them.”
He’s standing as an Independent councillor at next May’s Cornwall Council elections for the Camborne Roskear and Tuckingmill division, which is currently represented by Conservative Peter Perry.
“I’ve always said I want to leave Camborne in a better place than it was when I started as mayor. In the six months so far I think I’ve achieved that a little bit, but I want to do more.
"There’s a lot of positivity in Camborne. We have got youth problems but we’re working with various people to get youth clubs set up as quickly as we can so they’ve got somewhere to hang out.
"We’ve got a new one opening at Holmans next year which will be brilliant. Positivity breeds positivity.”
“Some people are surprised when I tell them I’m the mayor of Camborne. It is quite amusing because I have a bit of banter with Steve Webb [former Mayor of Truro who is also a wheelchair user].
"I go to events and people come up to me and say ‘Hello Steve, are you alright?’. I told him we need to get together and I’ll get a T-shirt saying ‘I’m not Steve’.
"In many ways I look up to him – Steve was the mayor of Truro so I can be the mayor of Camborne.”
James is positive for the future of Camborne and the many projects on the go as part of the Town Deal scheme, including the Basset Community Hub which has just received planning permission. He is pressing for more policing on the streets of the town and is particularly proud of various youth projects.
“When you end up in a wheelchair it knocks your confidence and in some ways you’ve got to overcompensate to project your voice that little bit more so you are heard,” he told me.
“Hopefully people with other disabilities can think if he can do it, I can do it. That might not be going into local politics, it might be going into a job, they might struggle with going out in public, whatever goal it might be. That would be great.”
If you need to talk to someone for any reason, there are people to reach out to:
Shout: Shout is a free, confidential, anonymous service for anyone in the UK. It won’t appear on your phone bill. To start a conversation, text the word 'SHOUT' to 85258.
Samaritans: Call day or night for free on 116 123.
Mind: Get short and longer term support in a mental health crisis by visiting www.mind.org.uk
If you feel like your life is at risk right now or you need urgent medical help call 999 and ask for an ambulance or go straight to A&E if you can.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here